Jaimie Cahlil Counselling & Psychotherapy Oxford Oxfordshire : Art Gallery

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HOW I WORK My work is essentially intuitive. Inspiration arrives as an image in my mind, a feeling in my heart, poetry in my soul... When I wish to start a new picture, I settle myself before a blank page or blank canvas, and spend a few quiet moments meditative preparation... Then, beginning with what I ‘see’ (an impression), I gradually add the details (colours, lines, shapes) as I feel prompted. Initially I work to convey the impression I receive - evoked by an image or phrase entering my mind, or an emotional or subtle-feeling experience.

Invisibly Held in Love (near completion) click to enlarge	Moment of Being click to enlarge

The hands-on process begins with standing back and letting my gaze rest within the canvas before me. Prompted to rub in a colour or make some line, gradually, in this way, lines and layers of colour and texture build. Out of this, images appear. And into this images merge or perhaps disappear... like the flowing and ebbing of the tide. Like breathing in and sighing out... shapes, lines and colours come and go. With each working, some images deepen with vibrancy... and sing, while others recline or fade to a whisper... As the picture slowly builds, and the images increase in clarity, the whole thing energetically expands... reaching out and filling the room. This effect deepens as my picture evolves. And gradually, I am less and less the ‘artist’, increasingly the onlooker. While this is how I work nowadays, in the past I tried (and failed) to create my pictures by imposing my will. I used to look around at my paintings and consciously decide what to paint next. There ensued a battle – which I inevitably lost! This is very much what happened when I began work on a certain painting, over 20 years ago. That day I noticed I had no elderly people in my pictures; so I decided my next would remedy this. I tentatively began drawing onto canvas the form and features of an elderly woman. However, after a frustrating struggle, I was obliged to scrub out the image I was busy making up and surrender. Consequently, I ended up with her grandchild! This was when I finally acknowledged that trying to force something into being simply does not work. Nowadays I happily allow whatever needs to happen. ‘Shell-Breaking’ is a clear example. We started by facing one another, he and I... before he began to move his head to look towards my right... while the deepest smile emerging from the grief in his heart... as a bird of joy emerges from that place, and there are tears of recognition in his eyes. (And mine.) Understanding the meaning each picture holds is an intimate process. I consider it unnecessary to translate my images into words for others, even though it may be entertaining. In reality, your own interpretations of my pictures are the most useful ones for you. Viewing and responding to any kind of creative expression is necessarily a subjective experience. You will recognise and respond to whichever pictures have particular meaning and value for you. This applies in respect of my mandalas too, which are inspired by traditional meditative design inspired by the universal mandala pattern itself. The traditional mandala, created to still the ever-changing waters of our emotions and the distracting mutterings of the mind, is deeply relaxing, focusing, empowering and transformative in effect. I hope my drawings, my paintings and my mandalas will reach your knowing heart and compassionate mind, and move you in some way... and I thank all those of you who have, over the many years, contacted me with your responses, stories and warm appreciation.

Like the Waves of the Ocean click to enlarge Becoming... click to enlarge	Warrior with a Paintbrush click to enlarge Mandala of Giving and Receiving click to enlarge

SYMBOLS My paintings are like waking dreams, each coming to me in my inner vision. Somehow I sense they are the shared creation of my heart-and-mind and our ‘universal unconscious’ (C.G. Jung). The symbolic images emergent in my work – and any creative work – are naturally common to us all, and may be understood on various levels. Images such as light, bowl, spear, hands, stairs and paths, water, fire, rainbows, archways... and archetypes - such as the quiet wise elder, and the wondering awakefulness of the child. The language of symbol may be comprehended by contemplation of the nature of such forms and effects. For example, what is the nature of a bowl? To contain – and to facilitate giving and receiving. So, a bowl may be regarded as a symbol for both giving and receiving. And stairs? They are a means by which we choose to ascend or descend. Stairs, paths, etc, represent the directions our personal journey through life may take – expressive of our aspirations and of the depths of our soul’s search. (And yet, the light is where we are!)

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MY JOURNEY AS ARTIST


The part assigned me, pre-birth, in our family drama, was to accelerate my understanding of suffering and joy, love and fear, once I got here – prompting me to early inner reflection and creative expression, and subsequently into a traditional fine art training (and eventually, the deepening process of psychotherapy training), all assisting the evolving of my art to this present day. My fifth year was incredibly significant – with regard to my self and my future paintings... The following experience (which came to me in that early year) encapsulates the essence of what is, at least so far, my life's work:

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INNER VISION Age five, I was ‘day-dreaming’ in school when I experienced the following: I see myself standing outside, gazing through a window into a brightly-lit room where I see the beautiful scene of a family lovingly absorbed in one another. After a few moments I turn away. In the darkness of this cold winter's night I walk alone; there are no people, no houses, no cars, no sounds… and no light - except for the tiny stars in the sky above. As I walk on, I gaze into the dark sky filled with stars… Soon my attention is drawn towards the brightest of those tiny dots of light, millions of miles beyond reach... However, this tiny far distant ‘star’ now feels incredibly near. And I realise I’m gazing into the most intensely bright light I had ever seen. The next moment, the intensity of its glow becomes a light shaft through the night, now streaming through the crown of my head… into every cell of my body, its unexpected warmth filling my heart with a profound sense of love... This early experience consciously awoke me to the presence of spiritual Love – and then soulful love, too. Additionally, that same essential ‘Light’ is always in my paintings as something profound, subtle, and beyond outward physical ‘dimension’. For me, ‘Love’ and ‘Light’ are warm healingful transformative energies, experienced simultaneously in heart and mind.

Longing... for Mother, Answered click to enlarge	Journey click to enlarge The Light is Where You Are click to enlarge
Guardian at My Shoulder click to enlarge Moment of Recognition click to enlarge	Shell Breaking click to enlarge Many Returns of the Day click to enlarge
Fire Spirit (initial stage) click to enlarge Fire Spirit (complete) click to enlarge	DREAM Speaking of what we could call ‘spiritual love’, (although I regard all genuine love essentially spiritual), I'll share with you a re-occurring dream I repeatedly dreamt when I was five, to illustrate: (In this dream) I’m approaching the summit of a sun-scorched hill on which stands what looks like a temple supported by pillars and built of sun-bleached stone... As I enter, warm golden sunlight is flooding in... Turning to the left, as if familiar with the place, I walk among stone columns… progressively in shadow. My self here a fully-grown man, I am dressed in long robes secured at the waist. In a moment I meet another robed figure, and we greet one another.

Soon deeply engaged in conversation, I begin speaking of love – and find I have much to say. As I continue, a crowd begins to gather… I speak at length, voicing my perceptions of (spiritual, unconditional) love and what it means to live guided by love. What I’m saying is unwelcome, the idea of change clearly meeting with resistance. The crowd becomes hostile... Sensing danger, I’m relieved to find within me the ability to rise up and fly... Leaving the temple swiftly, I rise higher and higher to the deepest blue sky... An adventurous and deeply reflective child, I found my sense of inner peace in all kinds of ways: outdoor exploration, creative activities, philosophical contemplation – and in my dreams. My initial role model, my father, was also my first art tutor – guiding my development from age six... We had sixty-one art books at home - and I studied them often. My father encouraged me to apply early for the same art school he himself attended at 40. Subsequently, I was accepted at age fifteen, in advance of enrolment, on submission of a series of pencil drawings. At seventeen I began what was by then an unusually traditional three-year degree-equivalent course at The Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art, in Oxford (founded by John Ruskin in 1871, who was also the first Slade Professor of Fine Art). I studied corpses at Oxford University’s Department of Anatomy, while gaining inspiration from the Ashmolean Museum's collection of 'old master' drawings. I recall how we students, after arriving in the Print Room and signing in, were allowed to view the drawing of our choice directly – as in not under glass, but lying on tissue paper, unprotected. ...I could have so easily sneezed on one of those hugely valuable vulnerable pieces of work! I doubt this mode of viewing would be permitted today. The Ruskin School of Drawing and Fine Art, long since moved to premises in the High Street, was accommodated then in the Ashmolean Museum in Beaumont Street, which I used to refer to as ‘The Temple’ (resembling the temple in my early dream, curiously). The Ashmolean Museum at Night back to the top My work, on leaving art school, was initially in portraiture and landscape. Age twenty-one, I had three pieces of work chosen by The Royal Society of Portrait Painters for exhibition in their annual show. As my twenties proceeded, I exhibited and sold many paintings, and accepted many portrait commissions, too. Gradually my pictures - still observational – evolved to become quietly playful in nature. Welcoming my son and daughter into this world, in the early 1980's my pictures grew less illustrative, and were now more emotional in feel. Entering my thirties, my connection with the spiritual was clearly re-emerging. Recognising I needed to cultivate a receptive state of mind to enable my self to be receptive enough to receive useful guidance with my work, I devised my own form of meditation. This is ‘described’ in my painting, ‘Inner Stillness’. Sitting quietly with eyes closed, I allow my mind to rest in spaciousness. Aware of external distractions, I focus differently, now experiencing them simply as colours and shapes and textures and pure sound… while steering my attention within – at the centre of which the most brilliant light glows softly… As I gaze, all distractions are drawn there and dissolve... (Later on I was delighted to discover a meditation group where I found warm, spiritual companionship – and more formal meditation practice.) Towards the end of my thirties, now circulating reproductions of my paintings as postcards and greetings cards, I began receiving invitations to give talks, slideshows and workshops. To these I added private tuition. In 1997, awaking from another profoundly significant dream, my art began a new phase in its evolvement - as did I.

Breathing Space - Healing Space (completed commission) click to enlarge	Soul-to-Soul: seeking the Beloved click to enlarge

To this day, my adventure of life continues… both inwardly and outwardly, expressed through the medium of my paintings and my work as therapist – an immense joy and privilege. My family – and my two (now adult) children, my many soul-friends, neighbours and acquaintances, and all kinds of travellers along the way, have enriched my soul and deepened my understanding - way beyond words. I send my love to each one. I offer you my pictures… knowing that what moves me may also move you. Working intuitively and with love, I paint what comes to mind and moves me in the depth of my being. I feel it is true that anything any one of us offers one another with LOVE is profoundly transformational - always. J.M.C. (revised) February 2009

Dreaming Souls click to enlarge 'Ganesh, Remover of Obstacles' click to enlarge Hand-in-Hand click to enlarge Compassion... for the Child Within click to enlarge Inner Stillness click to enlarge	Human Be-ing click to enlarge With Love... click to enlarge Pitcher of Essence click to enlarge Giving is Receiving click to enlarge Breathing the Ocean click to enlarge

OIL PAINTINGS ON CANVAS – measured in centimetres

‘Wings of Change’ (1990) size unrecorded - SOLD
‘Giving is Receiving’ (I) (1990) size unrecorded - SOLD
‘Journey’ (199?) size unrecorded - SOLD
’Inner Stillness’ (199?) size unrecorded - SOLD
‘The Light is Where You Are’ (199?) size unrecorded - SOLD
‘Warrior with a Paintbrush’ (1999) 91 x 56
‘Breathing the Ocean’ (1999) 59 x 71.5cms - SOLD
‘Many Returns of the Day’ (1999) 56 x 91
'Guardian at my Shoulder’ (2000) 73.5 x 53.5
‘Moment of Recognition’ (2000) 71.5 x 56
‘Moment of Being’ (2000) 36 x 40
‘Giving is Receiving’ (II) (2000) 61 x 76 - SOLD
‘Human Be-ing’ (2000) 91 x 66.5
‘Ganesh, Remover of Obstacles’ (2005) 101.5 x 71
‘Compassion for the Child Within’ (2005) 76 x 91.75
‘Dreaming Souls’ (2005) 60.75 x 91.5
‘Shell Breaking…’ (2005) 91.50 x 61.75
‘Becoming…’ (2005) 74 x 60.5
Hand-in-Hand’ (2005) 50.5 x 40.5
‘Like the Waves of the Ocean…’ (2005) 61 x 61 - SOLD
‘Longing…’ (2005) 65.5 x 121.5
‘Soul-to-Soul, seeking the Beloved’ (2005) 101.5 x 76 - SOLD
‘Pitcher of Essence’ (2005) 41.25 x 50.5
‘Loved into Life’ (2006) 90 x 70
‘Fear of Falling’ (in process) 59.75 x 59.75
‘Gentle Warrior’ (revised 2006) 66 x 91
‘Sea-Wind by Night’ (2006) – commissioned/SOLD 60.75 x 50.75
‘Receiving Light’ (2006) 76 x 56
‘Continuous Process of Becoming…’ (2006) 60 x 80
‘Song Between Two Souls’ (2006) 120 x 75
‘Many Aspects of ONE’ 76 x 101.5
‘Mandala of Transformation’ – (2006) 59 x 59
‘Mandala of Healing Light’ (in process) 45.5 x 45.5
‘Mandala of Emergence’ (in process) 49.75 x 49.75
‘Wedding Vows’ (in process) 61 x 50.75 – N.F.S.
‘Breathing Space - Healing Space’ (2007) 60.75 x 50.75
‘Fire Spirit’ 50 x 50
‘Invisibly Held in Love’ (2008, near completion) 122 x 76

PICTURES ON PAPER

‘With Love…’ (1991) 13 x 20cms – pencil. SOLD
‘Mandala of Self-Forgiveness’ (2004) 20.5cms x 20.5cms – colour pencil on water-colour paper
‘Mandala of Giving and Receiving’ (2004) 20.5cms x 20.5cms - colour pencils on water-colour paper

Painting and illustration commissions considered.
Please contact Jaimie Cahlil

See also Workshops and Creative Expression where there is more
information on the mandala – and reproductions of Jaimie’s mandalas.

See also ‘Workshops’ and ‘Creative Expression’ where there is more information on the mandala – together with reproductions of Jaimie’s mandalas.
Mandala of Past, Present and Future click to enlarge	Mandala of Celebration click to enlarge
Mandala of Compassion and Healing click to enlarge	Mandala for Joely click to enlarge

click images to enlarge
Loved into Life (initial stage) Fear of Falling Receiving Light Sea-Wind by Night Wedding Vows (in process) Continuous Process of Becoming Mandala of Creative Love	Gentle Warrior 'Loved into Life' Song Between Two Souls (near completion) Many Aspects of ONE (initial stage) Many Aspects of ONE (completed)
click images to enlarge
REPRODUCTIVE QUALITY: The colour reproduction and tone balance of my pictures as shown on this website vary from that of the originals (or printed reproductions). Please bear in mind the feel of my work is warm, glowing, healing and alive... VIEWING + PURCHASING ORIGINALS: please note that, when wishing to come and see original pictures by Jaimie Cahlil, viewing is by prior arrangement only. Some pictures exhibited here on this website, are available for purchase; many are already sold, while others (some shown here) are work-in-progress. Please see Terms & Conditions for practical information regarding the purchasing of pictures. Commissions negotiable. Alternatively, you may wish to purchase or commission a mandala picture. (Guidance offered for creation of personal mandala.) Interested? Contact Jaimie. Art Tuition in Oxford


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